Galentine’s Day tea party…

When my friend Maria planned a bonfire cookie party to celebrate her 60th birthday, she texted me that she knew I wouldn’t be able to come.

I couldn’t go because of my lung disease and the smoke. I was so touched that she remembered and thought of it.

She went on to text why don’t we do a tea party to celebrate both of our birthdays. 

Of course, I began planning what type of tea sandwiches, tea cakes, and sweets to make. 

I also invited our friend Kat to join us. Kat and I have been belly dancing for 20 years. 

Kat and Maria were friends. She brought Maria to one of our belly dance shows. I think she came to class the following week.

Yesterday morning, I found an article about Galentine’s Day. Here’s the article I read to find out about it.

What Is Galentine’s Day? Meaning and Origin of the Modern Holiday | YourDictionary

“Gal”entines Day can be celebrated between February 1 and 13. The tea party was set for Saturday, February 10, so it qualified 

I baked Earl gray tea cakes on Friday and glazed them with a made-from-scratch lavender glaze. Next, I baked lemon bars made with Meyer lemons. They came out amazing. 

Finding Meyer lemons at Trader Joe’s that were $2.99 a bag, the same price as conventional and less than $3.99 for organic, is fantastic. 

Just before the party, I made two kinds of tea sandwiches. The first was a cucumber and Boursin cheese sandwich. I used the Boursin cheese I made for “Sydney’s omelet.” It made the sandwiches so flavorful. 

I forgot to take a photo of the sandwich platter. 😑

I whipped up a small batch of curried egg salad for the other sandwiches. The table setting came together quickly since I had a lot of different serving pieces and dishes.

Maria brought a tea party floral arrangement in a teacup. It couldn’t have been more perfect!

Nelly was a little doll and so happy to have friends over. She loves Maria, and she took her to Kat immediately. She settled into her little bed in the dining room. She would go over to Kat for a little loving. 

She also spent her time inside Maria’s sweater that was hung on the stair post. Nelly smelled Maria & Jon’s three dogs, two donkeys, two chickens, one cat, and a flock of sheep. 

Note…the sweater didn’t smell like any of the animals to a human’s nose. LOL.

I have always loved having tea parties since I was a little girl, plus I got to use my Mema’s rosebud teacups. I have beautiful memories of Mema and me drinking tea and having Stella Dora Anisette Toast. 💖

My friends and I enjoyed the food and tea. We had fun conversations and lots of laughs, exactly like the new holiday we had learned about, Galentine’s Day!

I took the leftover cookies with me to Martin’s dinner party last and got to share them with my other friends. Life is really good.